The DIA and Lori Boyer Are Doing a Phenomenal Job

[fsu813]

Let's just get a space with some decent amenities up an running and move on to the next project.

If the park is just decent, COJ will have failed spectacularly. It *has* to be a space that people seek out to spend time at, like other great parks/public spaces.

[thelakelander]

^That's not transformational. That's expected. In my mind, that equals decent and its totally okay.

[Tacachale]

^That's not transformational. That's expected. In my mind, that equals decent and its totally okay.

I agree. Not everything has to be iconic, game-changing, or whatever in and of itself. What it should be is a good amenity that plugs into and supports the surrounding context. That's what truly makes a space great.

As a park, Memorial Park isn't anything special. What makes it special is how it fits into the surrounding neighborhood, meshing with nearby homes, apartments, shops and streets.

[BridgeTroll]

16 years ago I first logged into the old MetroJax... and sadly... 16 years later the exact same subjects and problems  and obvious solutions are  bandied  about  by earnest and knowledgeable people and here we are... with a downtown no one wants to  bring our out of town family and friends to... virtually no nightlife... abandoned buildings and more empty lots....

Lakelander, Lunican, Olaklawa, Steve, and even SD, began these discussions and proposed solutions some of which have been implemented... the integration of the Bus, skyway, greyhound, at Prime Osborne was one. It seems most other proposed solutions were ignored... and here we are... 16 years later.

Sigh.........

[heights unknown]

16 years ago I first logged into the old MetroJax... and sadly... 16 years later the exact same subjects and problems  and obvious solutions are  bandied  about  by earnest and knowledgeable people and here we are... with a downtown no one wants to  bring our out of town family and friends to... virtually no nightlife... abandoned buildings and more empty lots....

Lakelander, Lunican, Olaklawa, Steve, and even SD, began these discussions and proposed solutions some of which have been implemented... the integration of the Bus, skyway, greyhound, at Prime Osborne was one. It seems most other proposed solutions were ignored... and here we are... 16 years later.

Sigh.........

Sad isn't it? I don't see how anyone can really think, overall, that she's doing even a good job let alone phenomenal.

[Bativac]

16 years ago I first logged into the old MetroJax... and sadly... 16 years later the exact same subjects and problems  and obvious solutions are  bandied  about  by earnest and knowledgeable people and here we are... with a downtown no one wants to  bring our out of town family and friends to... virtually no nightlife... abandoned buildings and more empty lots....

Lakelander, Lunican, Olaklawa, Steve, and even SD, began these discussions and proposed solutions some of which have been implemented... the integration of the Bus, skyway, greyhound, at Prime Osborne was one. It seems most other proposed solutions were ignored... and here we are... 16 years later.

Sigh.........

Yes. Many of us have moved away in that time frame and returned several times only to continually be disappointed in the lack of progress (or in some cases, regression).

[heights unknown]

I left Jax permanently in 1995 (August) a year after retiring from the U.S. Navy. At that time Jax was on par or equal (in a lesser way) to all other major Florida cities. Since that time, all major Florida cities have left Jax in the dust. Not very much has changed since 1995. And one of the sad things is, there are cities that are not major Florida cities that have also left Jax in the dust, i.e., Lakeland, Sarasota, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Naples, etc. No, Lori is not to blame for all of it; but you would think since she took the helm that more/major progress would be made...and it hasn't happened and is still not happening or seems to be stagnant or "up in the air" relative to progress being made. Again, SHE is not totally to blame; but come on, poor decisions and choices have been made, and we as a City have not seized major opportunities in order to move Jax forward and once again at or on par with other major Florida cities. In February 2021, I was thinking of moving back to Jax, and yes, after all of those years; but decided to move somewhere in rural North Florida. As a litmus test I moved to Lake City for a year to reaclimate myself to North Florida, and then after that year I purchased some land with a home on it in rural suwannee county (suwannee valley area) and I love it. I visit Jax quite often for business and sometimes just to do a "look see" to see what is going on; and each time I visit, I am sorely disappointed. Overall, again, not too much has changed since 1995, yes there's been some progress but nothing astutely significant, however, I am rooting big time and pulling hard for Jax and am probably one of Jax's biggest cheerleaders despite the fumblings, ball dropping, etc.

[jaxlongtimer]

Two DIA showcase projects dead on arrival:

DIA will have to rebid two major downtown projects

The long-anticipated plans for two major downtown projects on city-owned property are "not financially feasible” and will need to be rebid, the head of the Downtown Investment Authority told the Business Journal.

“As costs have gone up, we never got to a point where there were fixed terms that met the criteria in our plan,” DIA CEO Lori Boyer said.

The dead projects are two of the most high-profile developments on the Northbank of the St. Johns River, filling in the blank canvas left by the demolition of the Jacksonville Landing and the former Duval County Courthouse....

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2024/02/15/downtown-projects-need-to-be-rebid.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=ae&utm_content=JA&j=34365334&senddate=2024-02-15&empos=p4

[marcuscnelson]

These seemed to be a long time coming at this point. Easy solution: forget a tower on Riverfront Plaza and do a (smaller!) convention center at Ford on Bay like we should have in the first place.

[Captain Zissou]

May have to adjust that $8B pipeline.

[jcjohnpaint]

I thought these were considered dead a long time ago.

[Charles Hunter]

Most of us have known that, but they had to wait for the coroner to weigh in

    Munchkin Coroner: (singing) As Coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examine (the deals), and (they're) not only merely dead, (they're) really most sincerely dead.

[fsu813]

I thought these were considered dead a long time ago.

The American Lions tower was a fantasy from Day 1. Wasted a lot of time on that mirage. Le sigh.

Hopefully a more realistic, coherent, and complimentary project to the park will eventually go on that parcel.

[thelakelander]

Nothing surprising here.

[Ken_FSU]

Status update from the DIA on some key projects, per the Daily Record:

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2024/feb/16/rising-costs-sinking-projects-in-downtown-jacksonville/

Hardwick - Dead; will need to be rebid
Riverfront Plaza Private Development Pad - Dead; will need to be rebid
Independent Life Building - Dead; will need to be sold and/or reincentivized
Ambassador Hotel - Dead; will need to be sold and/or reincentivized
Central National Bank - Dead; will need to sold and/or reincentivized
Related Tower on Southbank - $30 million funding gap; talks continue (have heard elsewhere, from multiple folks, that this one is dead too)
Laura Street Trio - DIA and City presenting three options to Southeast in order to help move the project forward (it sounds like they are, rightfully, pushing back on all the new construction elements and just trying to force a historic rehab of the existing structures)

Per the article, Groundhog Day continues, "...the DIA is likely headed back to square one on the properties. Bolstered by recent visits from what Boyer described as “national developers” interested in Downtown Jacksonville, she said the DIA is “getting very close to the time that we’re going to be having negotiations with folks on what they can do now in today’s market and be putting those dispositions back out.”

This will be the fourth RFP for Ford on Bay.

Have said my peace, we've got new leadership in charge at City Hall, but just sad to see the continued lack of accountability or recognition that we're essentially starting back over from zero on half of the riverfront after squandering the great migration into Jacksonville and the historic economic boom coming out of the pandemic. Other cities have dealt with the same supply chain issues, rising construction costs, inflationary pressure, and capital markets that we continue to use as excuses, and they've got cranes in the air. We still struggle to acknowledge that we're not seeing the progress that we should have.

Couldn't help but notice the contrast between the DIA's deafening silence on Friendship Fountain for years as it was closed versus their proud signage all over the park last night when it finally reopened.

But again, spilled milk. New day. Let's just pray that we have a fresh set of eyes scope, issue, and grade this next round of RFPs, lest we continue down this same fruitless cycle.